Improvement in djitgh ing-machines



2 Sheets--Sheet l G. W NE VIL L. Ditching Machines.

Patented Nov: 6,

MW A M 'N.PETERS, FHOTQLITNDGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D C.

fication, and in which ,line y y Fig. 2.

and wheels may be J I i I In the drawings, A is the upper partiof the .PATENT- GEORGE w; NEVILL, or cAvnRnA, nssrenon or ONE-HALF or nI-s RIGHT 'j' TO JOHN B, MCKAY, or SAME PLACE, AND WILLIAM BEARD, or

" roRDsvrLLE, KENTUCKY.

Ml-P:ROVEM EMT in hirer-.1 me- MACH .I-.N ES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent'No. 196,922,.dated November-6, 1877,- application .filed 1 July is, 1877. v

To all .whom' it may concern Beit lrnownlthat I, GEORGE W.NEvILL,of Gaverna, in the county of Hart and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ditching-Machines and Excavators, and I do herebydeclarethatthe- -ifollowi ng is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and'use the 5 same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing which form a part of this speci- Figure 1 is a' side elevation. Fig. 2 is atop;

plan. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line 00 min Fig. 2-. Fig. 4 is a rear ele ration, and Fig. 5j-is a cross-section after the Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

My invention relates to excavators-or ditching-machines; and it consists in an improved-5 construct on-andacombinatlon .of parts, slmphf ying the machineand renderingit certain and ,easy of operation.

In machines ,-of this class it is-desirable toiavoid complication, and make the operative parts as few in number and simple in construction as possible; and by my several improvements, hereinafter described,.and pointedout in the claims, I'obtain .a machinewhich will do its work satisfactorily in all kinds of soil,

will not-clog, will readily adjust itself vertically, turnseasily', and which may be so adi justed to makea perpendicular'ditch ricut,

withoutregard to what the ,pitchlof the axle frame, consisting of two stout beams, between .side of beams A Aare two castings eachof which consists of a slanting front piece, B, and

va brace, B. Above thepointof-unison of the pieces 13 and B. are the boxesor'bearings for the axle a of the earthor dirt wheel '0, which projects up through the open space between the beams A A, .andconsistsof afheav-y metal jwheel with a smooth rim or periphery n m clog and stop working.

five tofifteen inches inwidth, according-to the capacity of the machine, having .two' slightly- ..diverging flanges, one at eachedge. Each of these-flanges consists of aseries of segmental teeth, a, curved backward, which may either be cast in one piece with the wheel, or they may be made separately,or"-in segmental sections, (of fine iron or steel'),.and screwed or boltedonto the rim of the wheel,-Iso.-as to .pre- .sent one continuous toothed .orserrated flange on each side. To the lower end .of rear beam A is boltedla casting, which-consists of a piece, I reaching fo'rward'in under theearthwheel .0, where it .terminates in .a slanting .shoe, :61. D is the :plow, which is firmly bolted to the faceof shoe d, andispreventedifi'ombeing forced downward from the wheel by the braces Z. Z, which extend downward from the ends of the castings B, one on each side, and :are bolted to the .front endof shoe d.

It is indispensable to the successful-working of machines of this class that the plow- .point should not give or bend, but remain stationaryata ce'rtaindistance from the smooth face of the earth-wheel, the point beinga little closer .to the wheel than the heel, because if the plow-point should bend downward during the operation of the machine, (as it invariably will unless bracedand supported in the manner .described,) it will .take in more dirt at "the point than can be discharged at the heel,

the machine will I and the resultwill be that lhe wheel, during the operation of the machine, having a tendencyto rise, and theplow a tendency in the oppositedirect'ion, it follows that the casting B' and braces l bind or tie the two itogether firmlmsoeas to absolutely prevent deviation. The braces (I serve, be-

sides, asscrape'rs forthe wheel-flanges, keeping them clear of dirt, so that they will at all times present a clean andismooth cuttingqedge. E isa flexible and adjustable spring-back,

made of steel, which fits loosely in between theiflanges cc of the wheel G. Thelower end .ofspring-back E is inserted between the shoe d and plow 'D, where it isflieptinp'lace by countersunk screws or boltse, and the upper .end passes through a fiat sleeve, 1*, secured upon the end of a bracket, Gr, made of springsteel, which is'bolted onto the top of the rear beam or post- A. Spring-back E may be adjusted within its sleeve F, and held firmly in any given position, by means of a set-screw, g.

H is the scraper, which receives the earth from the earth-wheel C, and deposits it upon a tilting platform or table, I. The latter is hung on an axle, h, parallel to the machine, and has, consequently, a motion transverse to that of the machine. By tilting' the board I either to the right or to the left, the excavated earth is deposited either on the right or on the left side of the machine and ditch.

K is the steering-wheel, which is hung in a forked shaft, 17, pivoted in brackets k is pro jecting from the front post A. Bolted to the lower end of the fork i is a .hield, L, which surrounds the lower part of wheel K, and has a wedge-shaped point, L.

M is a segmental rack, bolted to and projecting backward from the rear post A. This rack passes through a sleeve, N, the innerfaces of which are provided with friction-rollers n, so as to allow rack M to slide easily up or-down. This rack engages with a pinion,

O, which may be turned by a crank, 0, as

'shown 1n the drawing, or by a lever, or in any other suitable manner, so that .by turning pinion 0 the rack may be raised. It may be re- 'tained in its elevated position, (in which posi tion the lowermost rim of the earth-wheel is above, and does not touch, the ground) by a spring pawl or pin, in the usual manner.

The sleeve N, through which rack M slides, is secured upon a beam, 1?, which is pivoted on a bolt, 12, passing through the middle of the rear axle Q, which carries the wheels. R It. To one end of the beam P is secured a lever, P, which is provided with a 'spring-- catch, 0*, so that it may be secured in any given position in a segmental rack, s, bolted onto the axle.

By this combination of beam P and axle Q :the machine may be kept in a perpendicular position whenused on hill-sides or slanting ground, as hereinafter set forth.

S S are braces, which reach from the ends of beam 1? (ene on each side) forward to the front beam A, so as to give strength and sta-j bility to the machine; and T T are cutters or clearers, which are secured, one on each side,

at the bottom of the front post A, to clear away rubbish and prepare the ground for the advance of the wheel C.

. Having thus described the construction and combination of the several parts of my machine, I shall now proceedto explain the manner of operating it.

When not in use, or while on the way to where it is to be used, the earth-wheel is elevated, as described, by means of the rack M and pinion 0, so as not to touch the ground,

. and in this position the machine may be easily transported, resting solely on its front or steer ing wheel K and the rear wheels R It. The place having been reached, the pawl or pin which retains rack M is released, and the wheel allowed to drop upon the ground, where its weight will force the flanges c a down into the earth. The team is then started, and the machine, as it advances, will cut and raise the soil, forming a ditch corresponding to the width of the wheel, the loosened earth being pressed firmly between the flanges of the wheel, and carried up by it until the scraper His reached,

which scrapes it off and delivers it upon the tilting table 1, as already described. If, during the advance of the machine, the-earth-wheel should stick, and slide in the ground instead of revolve, the teeth or notches c, catching into the soil, will start it again, so that it will be kept continually rotating and cutting as the machine advances. The steel-spring back E will prevent any of the dirt from falling out while being raised perpendicularly by the wheel, and being made of spring-steel, and thereforefflexible, it will yield to the pressure of ;the earth carried up by the wheel, being aided in thus yielding by the steel-spring bracket G, in which its upper end is secured.

When, in this manner,the end of the ditch has been reached, the wheel is raised and the. m achine is turned and started back again over 7 the same track, the earth-wheel sinking of its own weight into the cut made on the way out,

while the steermg-wheel K, which runs in the cut, will guide the advance of the machine, the shield L, which surrounds it, preventing its edges from cutting into the sides of, the

first cut, in which the machinenow travels.

In this waythe machine is started forward and backward in the same out until a sufficient depth has been reached, the earth-wheel always adjusting itself to the proper depth within the ditch. i

If the ground is uneven or slanting,so that one of the wheels R is higher than the other, the pivoted beam P is so adjusted by its lever P and rack 8 upon the axle Q that all the parts of the machine except the axle with its wheels shall be in a perpendicular position.

The advantages of my machine will, from the foregoing, be obvious to all who have had practical experience in the art of excavating or ditch-cuttin g by machine. The earth wheel cannot stick or bind; it uses no apron or endless band (which are always objectionable, as theysoon wear out, and are apt to get outof order) to carry up the dirt; it will adjust itself in the cut, and requires no lowering by screws or other complicated mechanism for that purpose, and may be adjusted laterally, so as to makea perpendicular cut on sloping or uneven ground; the dirt may be delivered on either side of the ditch; and its parts are few andstrong, and their combination simple i and effective. a

f Having thus described my invention, I claiin and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. In an excavator or ditching-machine, an

earth cutting and'carrying wheel, 0, provided with segmental notched or serrated curved flanges c 0, having square front edges, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described. Y

2. As an improvement in excavators or ditching-machines, the combination of an earth cutting and carrying wheel, 0, having side flanges c a, with a flexible spring-back, E, and elastic bracket G, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

8. The combination of the flexible springback E with the flexible spring-bracket G and sleeve F, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

4. The combination of the flanged wheel 0, plow D, flexible spring-back 'E, sleeve F, and spring-bracket G, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

5. The combination of the flanged wheel G, castings B B, having the combined scrapers and braces Z Z, and plow D, whereby the Wheel and plow are prevented from diverging from each other, substantially as' and for the purpose herein shown and described.

6. The combination of the flanged wheel 0, scraper H, and hinged tilting board I, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

7. In an excavator or ditching-machine, the steering or guide wheel K having a shield or guard, L, to prevent its edges from cutting into the sides of the ditch, substantially as and for the purposeherein shown an d described.

8. As an improvement in excavators or ditching-machines, the frame A A A, which carries the cutting and carrying wheel 0, plow D, and segmental rack M, in combination with a rear or supporting axle, Q, provided with a sleeve, N, having friction-rollers n, so that the frame may adjustitself vertically by the rack M sliding through said sleeve, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

GEORGE w. NEvILL.

Witnesses v GEo. F. GRAHAM, AUGUST PETERSOHN. 

